Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Strictly average movie

Excellent, smart action film.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Many a Hollywood comedy has put two comics on the road together and found comedic gold. Britain's "The Trip" is what those movies would be if they were somewhat realistic, and it's no less funny – depending on your tastes, of course.Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon play fictional versions of themselves who go on a foodie tour of northern England for an article Steve's writing, as told by their "Tristam Shandy" director, Michael Winterbottom. Originally released as a series of six 30-minute episodes for TV, Winterbottom edits them into a film just shy of two hours; despite having not watched the series, nothing feels incomplete about this film version, though doubtless there are more comedic gems to be found in the missing hour of material.That said, "The Trip" is episodic in nature. There's a rhythm and formula to each day: Steve and Rob drive down winding northern roads with beautiful landscapes behind them; they arrive at modest inns where a friendly woman shows them around; they sit in quaint dining rooms and eat exquisite-looking food that Winterbottom loves to show being plated; they do impressions of famous actors ad nauseam; they discuss their careers; they make phone calls to a consistent assortment of people, often out in fields where to get cell phone reception; they recite poetry. Rinse and repeat.Although at times this repetitive structure feels uninspired, there's something comforting about it, like when you get into a pleasant routine on a vacation. All the while, we grow more accustomed to Steve and Rob's dynamic, one that is typical of two humorous friends in that jokes get repeated, they annoy each other and there's a little one-upmanship going on. The fact that Rob is a family man and Steve is a middle-aged bachelor keeps their back-and- forth interesting and occasionally poignant. The humorous aspects of "The Trip" have nothing to do with the plot or narrative. Nothing is situational. It has funny bits and clips that stand on their own. The dueling Michael Caine impressions (and "she was only 15 years old" bit), "Gentleman, to Bed," James Bond villains and singing "The Winner Takes It All" are some of the highlights that can be enjoyed without any context yet definitively add something to the film when experienced as part of the whole."The Trip" feels about as close to real life as a comedy can get without losing all its funniness. Most real-life friends aren't as funny as these two, and that's the secret as to why not just anyone can go on a food tour of northern England, bring a camera along and make a good movie. Coogan and Brydon are exemplifying great improvisational chemistry while staying grounded in their characters enough that "The Trip" retains the feel of a documentary.Even Americans or others who self-identify as fans British humor will find "The Trip" to be a different sort of animal that maybe wasn't what they expected. It's mundane, uneventful and a little plain. It makes no statements. Yet there's a pleasure in watching it – and re-watching the funniest clips.~Steven CThanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more

Steve and Rob are both well known comedians and actors who have been friends for over 11 years and have worked together on several projects. The Trip has them taking on a small, filler job, touring the north of England to write a few restaurant reviews. The movie is about their friendship and how hard it often is for male friends to move beyond the superficial and amusing and to let their guard down with each other long enough to be real and thereby, vulnerable. Steve is in denial about his aging, his relationships with women, and about the scope of his career. He is a man whose ego is fragile and he goes to great lengths to protect it. Rob is much more comfortable and philosophical about his own life. Contented and happy, he sees no need to compete with Steve, and so a true friendship is able to blossom. It's brilliant!

There is much to like about this unique little film - witty often improvised dialog, unbelievably beautiful landscapes of rural northern England, the food (THE FOOD!). The 2 main characters are on a road trip assignment to review various high-end restaurants. The movie captures these dining experiences and the shared time between these 2 long-time friends. The leads are very engaging although at times the underlying competitiveness of their relationship is a little off-putting and repetitive, but probably an accurate portrayal of such characters.Originally a British TV series, the film is an condensed version of one season, and the result (for time purposes) feels a little short-changed in the development of the characters. However, the overall fun in watching the movie makes this flaw acceptable.Be sure to watch the DVD bonus feature focusing on the food eaten throughout the movie as the bonus feature details the plating and preparation which are a little hurried during the main feature.A recently released film documenting this twosome on a journey in Italy should be a worthy follow-up.For my other movie reviews, please visit: https://nomorewastedmovienights.wordpress.com

A double-bill of the film versions of BBC series THE TRIP, the first season is in 2010, Steve Coogan is asked by The Observer to tour Northern England's finest restaurants, but his then girlfriend Mischa (Stilley) back-pedals in the last minute, so Coogan asks his friend, the comedian and impressionist Rob Brydon to come with him instead. The second season is released this year, and the pair embarks on a trip to Italy for the another restaurant review tour. Both seasons are separately compressed into two film features by its director Michael Winterbottom. Treading on the similar (and successful) territory of Richard Linklater's BEFORE trilogy, the films almost inclusively rely on the interminable chattering between Coogan and Brydon, but since the casual conversation between two heterosexual middle-aged male is a bore, so to a lesser degree, the films opt for their celebrity impressions (mainly from Brydon, the personae are running from local staples to international names like Michael Caine, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, various 007, to the latest Batman stars Tom Hardy and Christine Bale) to entertain viewers, which is a successful gag at first, but when it has been stretched into two films, sooner or later the laughter would freeze into a state of insensibility (one exception is Rob's man-in-the-box mimicry in Pompeii. where he plays two roles imitating a conversation with the preserved dead body). One might predictably anticipate the journeys will come across as food pornography, which is true, they are munificently treated with the exquisite gastronomic delights, but stingily, the films never even try to dig into their reactions of the delicacies they are contently devouring, all tends to give the inkling that they are less gourmands than gourmets (or maybe it is all in their commissioned reviews, cannot be divulged for the sake of the copyright). Instead, every meal time conversation downgrades into a stale performance of impressions, which is mind-numbingly frustrating if one is not really into its cultural soul. As an improvised faux-documentary, there is a resilient fraternity between Coogan and Brydon, which also undergoes a certain transition through the journey, in THE TRIP, one can detect Coogan's condescending pose towards Brydon, not overt, but considering their different career-orbit, Coogan is considerably more successful than Brydon in the showbiz. At first, Coogan constantly dismisses and refuses to cooperate with Brydon's impressions as he said "I don't do impressions!". But during the detour where they shortly visit Coogan's parents, they convivially confirms that impression is also what their son's trump card. Moreover, Winterbottom instills this judgmental discrepancy in their final destinations, Coogan wistfully returns to his empty modern flat with French windows while Brydon is happily back to his homely companion of his wife and new-born baby girl.Whereas in THE TRIP TO ITALY, their rapport is more or less based on an equal ground, notably this time, the invitation is sent by Brydon, a brief encounter with no-string-attach benefit finally occurs to Brydon this time, and he also gets an important role in a Michael Mann film during this trip (while in the prequel, Steve is offering a leading role in an American series but he is hesitate to take it). But basically the two films are in the exact same mode, driving, impersonating, dining, impersonating, occasionally flirting-leads-to- sex-and-followed-by-morning-after-remorse, meeting friends, impersonating, sightseeing, etc. etc. Literature reference is also the accompanying dessert on the way, Samuel Coleridge in the Northern Britain, Byron and Mary Shelley in Italy. The films are pleasant to watch in most of its time, a fly-on-the-wall presentation of splendid scenery which often interrupted by casual jabbering and food is served with fleeting kitchen scenes, also sporadically Winterbottom brings some odd dream sequences, one of which has a Ben Stiller cameo. Due to the love of Italy (both the cuisine and the view can undeniably pale Northern Britain in comparison) and Alanis Morissette, I give an edge to the sequel eventually. But after all, between "THE" and "TRIP" in their titles, there is an invisible "EGO" hidden there, which will betray itself as quickly as possible in its hedonistic undercurrent.